DENNIS – The only access road to Chapin Beach in Dennis is becoming increasingly difficult to maintain due to flooding and beach erosion, and now Dennis selectmen are facing a big decision.
Two options have been presented to selectmen on how to proceed with Dr. Bottero Road.
The first option includes a small scale beach nourishment and a new groin to help stave off erosion at a cost of about $1 million. This option would provide relief for four to six years, and even longer with proper maintenance.
“If we’re going to go through with an approach like this, the town needs to not only build the groin and nourish the beach, but have a plan that every four to six years we’re going to be re-nourishing this beach,” costal engineer Trey Ruthven said.
The second option would involve actually relocating the road along an old cart path in a salt marsh, however this option would require a state variance for the marsh impacts, as well as mitigation from state and federal regulators.
The initial cost of this option would be under $1 million, but with mitigation, the final cost of relocating the road would likely be about $2 million.
A final decision has yet to be made.
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